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Endocrine 101: How The Whole Thing Works

Everybody has an endocrine system. At least half of them don’t work right. And most of that 50% struggle every day–if only trying to locate the bus that hit them.

Must’ve been a bus. Well, maybe a truck. It had to be something big to flatten us so completely.

We don’t know what caused the problem, why it had to pick on us or how to fix it.

Meanwhile, doctors tell us we’re ‘fine.’ We know we’re not ‘fine,’ but we don’t know what to do about it.

Well, one thing we can do is learn about how things work. Understanding the endocrine system works makes it a whole lot easier to understand how it gets done in. As the saying goes, knowledge is power.

Now I recognize that you probably never put understanding the endocrine system on your top-ten list of things to do. But sometimes you just have to dig in and do what you have to do to get where you want to be.

If you’re content to live at the bottom of the energy barrel and don’t want to be bothered with understanding how it goes, you can ignore me. Is this a great country or what?

Cause I’m talking endocrine.

Our bodies have lots of pipes and plumbing taking things hither and yon, but not the endocrine system. Our endo systems are almost entirely plumbing-free. They have to work without it.

Here’s how it goes: Our endocrine glands emit hormones. The hormones drift along through our bodies until they come upon receptors that chemically fit them, with each hormone have its own specific set of receptors. Having found a fit, the hormone locks into the receptor and gets to work. Nothing happens until the hormone/receptor fit happens.

Unfortunately, chemically similar imposters lurk about, ready to enter and take over the receptor before the hormone can get there. Chaos ensues.

While things seem to be working, our hormones lose the power and the glory to do anything.

For instance, the iodine that completes your thyroid hormone gets pushed out by fluoride, chlorine and, most of all, bromine (a fire retardant used in bread and other baked goods–for reasons unknown, but probably money. It usually doesn’t show up on the ingredients label lest people avoid it.)

With no place to go and nothing to do, iodine gets washed away in your urine. But when thyroid loses its iodine and combines with the imposter, you end up with thyroid that doesn’t work. That’s bad enough, but here’s the real gotcha: Blood tests can’t tell the difference between functional, iodine-enriched hormone and the imposter garbage, so they say you’re ‘fine.’ Bald, brain-fogged and tired to death, but ‘fine.’ The test said so.

Some hormones get even. If you take phony-baloney estrogen into your body, you put yourself in a world of hurt. Whether it’s something you eat, plastic containers, the lining in canned foods, parabens in your lotions and potions, birth control pills, whatever–fake estrogen wreaks havoc. You end up awash in estrogen, and things run seriously amok. And guys need to know that estrogen is an equal opportunity destroyer.

You can end up with estrogen dominance. Men grow moobs, lose their libido along with their testosterone and can eventually succumb to prostate cancer. Women say ‘good-bye’ to their libido, too, and ‘hello’ to PMS, endometriosis, menopause problems, etc. They also increase their odds of breast cancer. Little boys endure a lifetime of low testosterone. No more John Waynes to take care of business; just Pee Wee Hermans. Little girls experience precocious puberty–and a lifetime of estrogen problems, including fertility issues.

While doctors know the emitter/receptor process, they’re not taught the rest of what you just read. We really need to know this stuff if we’re going to conquer it.

About the author

Thanks to a drunk driver, Bette Dowdell has had a life-long opportunity to experience a disfunctional endocrine system. By applying her extensive research, she has things all marching in the same direction now, she's doing well and now shares her knowledge with others.

Dowdell has researched health issues–and solutions–for more than thirty years, with a special focus on the endocrine system. When any part of your endocrine system–say your thyroid–goes down, you’re in a heap of trouble. And, to paraphrase, when the endocrine system ain’t happy, ain’t no body part happy. Bette had to walk that road, and she didn’t get much help from doctors. Now she writes a weekly e-zine to share what she learned–and continues to learn, You can get a free subscription at www.TooPoopedToParticipate.com. Don’t drag through life wondering what hit you.

Comments

1

Victoria Jager Kenna

Thu, 06/02/2011 - 6:44pm

I read all I can on endocrine, thyroid and all things health/wellbeing related. This is a great little article as it explains how the endocrine operates and how what we do (our daily choices and our environment) rally together to undermine optimal functioning of our endocrine system. This is one of the best short takes on the topic I have ever encountered-so thanks! I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (hypothyroid) over 5 years ago (in my late 50's) and through throrough research was able to negotiate with the endorcrinologist I found on what to take-rather than just take what was prescribed/common to take. As the natural choice I made was able to do the job, this young doctor allowed it. I was taking a very small dosage of Natur-Throid (no longer available) and now take Lot #112410 of THYROID 0.6 GR which I have compunded for me from a pharmacy in Arizona. Usually, people with this thyroid problem have to scale-up their intake of synthedic thyroid hormones every year, yet still have the persistant negative side effects of being hypothyroid. I don't have to scale-up every year and don't experience any of the negative effects of hypothroidism these days; and have actually lost weight (lots of good fresh raw salads, fruits, foods as well as cooked foods-meats, fish, eggs, good fats: real (organic)butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc...) Now that I finally know what "ails me", I have done so much to improve this condtion (diet, excercise, nutrients, etc.) that i feel and look better now (age 66) than I did as a young women and have lots of energy and an ideal weight to boot without dieting and enjoying all the foods I love-organic, fresh and local-mostly. So much of how my life unfolded as a parent. wife, teacher, co-worker (currently as a nurses delegate) related to a malfunctioning endrocrine/thyroid system! Relationships suffered; mostly the relationship I had with myself! Though I rallied myseof and energies together in the classrooms and at other work/jobs, it was my family who saw the debiltating effects of an endocrine system that was not functioning properly; and all those years of simply not knowing!!! Today, I can say I have a much closer relationship with my husband, adult daughters (who suffered so much to have a depressed, unpredictable mom who did know how to help herself!) and relatives and friends. Information like the above article goes a long way to getting us all on track to the vibrant health and happiness we all deserve. Thanks so much for allowing us to learn volumes in such a short space. As a modern language teacher (world languages), I appreciate the expertise that went into this crucial message.
Sincerely,
Victoria Jager Kenna

Lori

- Clarity: top marks
- Humour: top marks
- Completeness: 7/10. Here you could include, since blood tests can't tell the difference, other means of telling if your thyroid's functional or not: other tests, tell-tale signs and symbols, excessive iodine in the urine, etc.

Look forward to your next piece!

Vinay
Singapore

4

Anonymous

Fri, 06/03/2011 - 12:05pm

The Endocrine system does not EMIT HORMONES, IT SECRETES THEM. Further more, they do NOT have receptors; each cell in each organ has certain receptors that accept certain hormones and other chemicals. It can be more correctly stated that receptors are like locks that only certain chemicals have the key to function properly in any given cell.

5

ReadItAgain

Fri, 06/03/2011 - 1:46pm

Uh Anonymous 4 what ARE you talking about? Emit and secrete are considered synonyms. They both mean to produce and discharge.

And if you look up any common definition of the endorcine system it will indeed mention receptors. Like, for example, this description from Wikipedia "The endocrine system consists of glands that secrete hormones, and receptors that detect and react to the hormones." Notice the word "receptors".